Eve of Reality
by Devilina07
Summary: This piece was written for the PhansOnLine Morbidity Contest. The story takes places after Erik kidnaps Christine from the stage before her elopement. Who is sane? Who has lost their grip on reality? This fic has some twists but is connected to Leroux


**Eve of Reality**

The Phantom of the Opera, unbeknownst to those living above the opera house's cellars, had eluded the authorities and all those who sought his whereabouts. No one bore witness to Erik's departure, which was much like a star that falls out of the sky during the twilight hours.

No longer did he have to hide his face from the constant stares of others. No longer did he fight for the attention of the one he loved. With all of the happiness in his heart, Christine was his companion in his voyage about the world. And here they stood, giving silent tribute to the marvels of English innovation.

Erik looked up at the face of the prodigious clock tower. In all of his reading, Erik had come to admire Augustus Pugin's talent in constructing the clock that sat atop the structure known as Big Ben. Erik could not, however, forgive the trespass of allowing the inscriptions of _Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Victoriam_ degrade such an edifice. Dedications of buildings to those of political power had bothered Erik since his days in Persia. All of Erik's sensibilities railed against giving those of authority further reason to think themselves above the common populace. It was true that Erik never considered himself nor was he ever thought of as a commoner; however Erik was not immune to the intricacies of lunatic leaders and their ilk.

Enraptured by the magnitude of the event, Erik lost track of time as he stared at the building that held the massive mechanisms, bells, and clock faces. It was not until the clock struck four in the morning that Erik was snapped out of his reverie. If only Christine were awake to enjoy this moment with him.

Looking about, Erik took note of the fact that the streets were devoid of inhabitants. For the briefest of moments Erik allowed himself to believe that the world belonged to Christine and him and to no one else. Erik no longer felt like a charlatan or an imposter who moved through life using deceit to gain his way. Reality had finally deemed Erik suitable to live the life he so longed to have. A life where he might travel about with a lady on his arm, a woman who willingly touched him of her own volition. A woman who was Christine.

The chill night air was not the proper environment for her lovely voice and soon they would have to find shelter before the first of the English citizens began to make their way to their places of employment. A great weight had been lifted off of Erik's mind with Christine's acceptance of his offer to travel, but he was under no illusion that his physical condition was still a delicate matter. Erik had no wish to alarm onlookers as both he and Christine made their travels. Erik was also concerned about Christine's mental well-being upon seeing his naked visage. With time she would inure herself to his appearance, but until that day, Erik would continue to wear his masks.

Prior to Erik making his proposition to Christine, he began the construction of an alternate mask that gave him gave him the slightest appearance of normalcy. While the mask partially veiled his features, it was not sufficient in the daylight. The mask only afforded him some respite from passers-by during nightfall.

The next day Erik would ask Christine where he could take her next in their voyage. The salary he received from the managers allowed for elegant yet comfortable traveling. Christine was never in need for anything. And if there was some article that she required, Erik would promptly obtain it for her.

Perhaps she would care to see the Great Wall in China, or perhaps the Taj Mahal in Agra. There was also the Vatican to consider. Christine was a religious woman; there was the possibility that she may want to pay her respects to the numinous martyrs that lined St. Peter's Square. Erik's perfidy had caused him to long ago abandon faith in God but the prospect of bringing joy to Christine's face and seeing her smile was well worth the discomfort. The possibilities were endless as far as options for destinations were concerned.

Last night Erik stayed awake dreaming, and truth be told, he was still in a state of fantasy. Christine was in her own room and was oblivious to the thoughts that swirled within Erik's head. Erik's heart had called out to her and she had responded with a simple nod of her head. It was in that moment that he had fallen desperately, deeply, in love with her soul. If she required him to follow her to the ends of the Earth, he would have flown to her and laid his body at her feet. He would abase himself to hear his name escape her lips.

Erik's optimism in this new revelation from Christine kept him from remembering his dark past. His past no longer held any meaning or weight. And now he needed to move Christine's sleeping form into the rooms he had secured for their stay.

Tomorrow would be another day of discovery.

When Christine awoke, she was startled to find herself in a room she could not recognize. Struggling to look about, she found her things neatly folded over chairs or hanging in an armoire that stood in the corner. The room was illuminated by one lone lamp that was dimmed in order so that she may sleep.

Sleep.

She had been awake the night before and in the comfortable setting of her dressing room. She had given her last performance at the opera house before her planned departure with Raoul but could not remember the events following.

Had Raoul already taken her away from Paris? And why could she not remember? Where was Raoul? He knew that she detested the darkness following her long stays with Erik.

Christine slowly pushed the covers off her body so that she could locate Raoul but as her legs touched the floor, the coldness of the stone below her feet sent currents of electricity up her legs. The sudden realization came to her. She was not in a hotel with Raoul. This was not their planned departure. Christine moved to turn up the lamp so that she could better survey her surroundings.

When the light grew, Christine gasped; at once knowing where she was. The chill in the air alerted her to her true location. She was in Erik's home but in yet another room. One she could not recall ever visiting. The tapestries hung elegantly on the wall could not hide the stone and rock that lay behind them.

Christine hurriedly scrambled about looking for a door or some sort of exit but the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes were beginning to impede her vision. There was no door. There was no exit. There was only a room and her with Erik possibly on the other side of the wall.

Christine suddenly realized what had transpired the night before. She had not completed her role as Marguerite in _Faust_. Instead she had been snatched from the stage during her performance by her masked tutor.

It was then that the previous night's events crashed about Christine's head with sudden clarity. The day's news in _L'Époque _had informed the entire theater community of her plans to flee with Raoul. The opera attendees brutally confronted her with their silence. Carlotta had arrived at the theater and had taken her place in one of the boxes just as Christine was sure that she would collapse from the oppressive weight of the theater's atmosphere.

Then there was blackness. A bleak blackness and the most profound sleep.

With a quick rap of his hand, Erik entered the room exuding the most peculiar behavior. His gait was still timid and yet it held a new sort of confidence that Christine had not seen prior to this moment.

"Good morning, Christine. Did you have a good night's sleep? I do hope that the conditions are to your liking. I searched for the best accommodations. Erik has done his best to make you as comfortable as former queens of Egypt. It is a bit stuffy in the room?"

Christine stood horrified as she watched Erik walk towards the far side of her bed. Along one side of the wall were draperies. Erik stood in front of these and pulled aside the material revealing the darkness of wall which they covered.

"My dear, tell me if the sun is too bright for your brilliantly beautiful eyes. I don't want you to be blinded. Christine, can't you hear the birds chirping outside? Come stand next to me and look outside. It is a wonderfully glorious day."

Christine began to tremble with fright as Erik spoke to her of the non-existent outdoors that clearly was not beyond the draperies. She had never heard him speak so irrationally before of the present. He had raved of what their future had the potential to become but he had always remained cogent. Now he had lost all of his sensibilities and this made her all the more frightened for her life.

"Erik, why have you brought me here? I ask---no, demand---that you take me back up to the opera house. You are frightening me so and I do not wish to play along with your games."

Erik turned to her, his hand outstretched to take her hand. Christine was almost positive that he had not heard a word she said. "Come, my dear, sweet girl. Listen to the sounds as they make their way up to our ears. It is as if the world is singing your praises this morning."

As Christine hesitantly approached Erik she began to notice something quite unusual. The closer she stepped toward the "window" the more distinct the sounds of birds whistling grew. And indeed there was also the normal sound of breeze brushing through the leaves and bowers of trees. Christine's brow furrowed as she attempted to find the object that mimicked nature.

She was still searching with her eyes when Erik's voice spoke up behind her. "Would you care for me to call up a meal for you? It is no longer morning but instead early afternoon. Perhaps some brunch to carry you over until we dine later this evening? That is exactly what I shall do. Now as I go and order your food you can prepare yourself for our outing today. I have many things on my itinerary that I would like for you to see. I already laid out your clothing upon the chairs. Or perhaps there is some place you want to see….."

The madness in Erik's voice finally was too much for Christine to bear. Talk of ordering meals and dining out had taken its toll on her mind. "Erik! There is nothing more that I want than to be released! You kidnapped me against my will. Release me, you monster. I never gave you permission to take me by force and I certainly will not be traveling anywhere with you. Your talk of visiting places has not deluded my senses. I will not fall for your tricks. Release me! Release me! Release me. Oh Raoul…..."

The uttering of these last two words escaped before Christine could catch them. The mention of Raoul broke Erik out of the daydream he was currently in.

"Raoul, eh? All that I have done for you, all that I have sacrificed for you and yet you still mention his name in my presence when I have strictly forbidden it. Oh you wretched girl. If only you knew the torment which you put me through. I was ready to give you the world but you have instead opted to spit in my face. Oh woe to you Christine Daee. Give me your hand! I demand that you give me your hand!"

Christine struggled against the vice grip of Erik's cold, skeleton fingers but despite her struggle, she could not fend off Erik.

Erik's long strides brought Christine quickly to a panel that revealed a door. With a quick brush of his hand, the door opened upon Erik's command to a dark void that they stepped into.

"Behold, Christine. My wedding gift to you."

In a quiet hush, gas lamps were lit about a cavernous room that Christine had never laid her eyes upon. The dimensions of Erik's interminable underground kingdom were shifting shapes as one by one the gas lamps were set alight.

Stunned into silence and stillness, Christine could not believe what was before her eyes. The gravity of her situation was much greater than she had originally feared. Christine could never have guessed or even suspected the sight which Erik put before her now. She had been unprepared for what she was currently witnessing.

"Erik……..what is all of this? Why are you showing this to me?"

"Step into the light, Christine. The luminosity of the lamps will not reach you when you stand in the doorway. Step into the light and take a look about you. What is this, you ask? Did I not say that this was my wedding gift to you? I promised you that the world would come to take splendor in your voice. I promised the world to you and it is the world that I have brought to your doorstep."

With a quick tug of her hand, Erik brought Christine forward into the light. To her right stood replicas of the great Egyptian pyramids Christine had once heard of. Along the back wall she recognized a miniature replica of England's Big Ben that reached from the floor to the very ceiling of the room. Closer to where she stood, Erik had erected the Roman Coliseum. Other facades also occupied the room, some of which Christine had never seen before.

Christine's shoulders began to shudder as she fought to hold in her fear. Erik's talk meant only one thing to her: he meant to keep her within these walls for the entirety of her life. Any hope of rescue or escape had disappeared with Erik's delusion.

"Where should we travel first, my dear? Any place you wish and I will take you there. Or perhaps you wish to be with your beloved Raoul, eh? I will only be too happy to oblige. Well, come with me then."

Christine winced as Erik's grasp on her hand tightened. He pulled her past many of his constructions until they finally arrived at one very puzzling "room." In it was a bedchamber that was elegantly furnished. Christine was puzzled as to the significance of this room that clearly stood out from the other foreign destinations which Erik had erected. Christine feverishly looked about, attempting to find some sort of weapon that she could lay her hands upon, but Erik had passed the point of sensibility and now nearly dragged her to a seat.

"You _will_ take a seat and not move. You owe me the courtesy of your attention if not your love. Now, pay attention, Christine, because I will not repeat myself. This room you currently occupy will look familiar to you."

Christine was at a loss as to Erik's assertion. She had never seen the room before in her life.

"Erik, I….."

"Do not lie to me, Christine. I will not be played with like a child's toy. You must recognize de Changy's bedroom for I am sure he has taken you there many a time. Would you care to find out how it is that I know his room looks thus?"

Her foreboding grew as Christine was afraid to ask Erik any further questions regarding Raoul. At the moment she was still unclear as to Raoul's whereabouts and broaching the subject held the possibility of disclosing information that Christine was not ready to hear.

Erik continued, "Or perhaps you would care to know what exactly young de Chagny attempted only the night before? Yes. Yes. I do believe that we shall reenact that momentous occasion."

With a few determined strides, Erik stood in front of the night table that was placed along side the rather large bed. From the drawer, Erik extracted a pistol.

Taking a hold of Christine's hand, Erik placed the pistol within her palm. "Take this pistol, Christine. Go ahead! Take it. This piece of metal does not burn……And now I will direct you in your movements."

She had never held a gun before and its weight was something she was sure she would never forget. Its leaden weight and the circumstances in which she found herself the possessor of such an object could never be forgotten. Christine quickly became hysterical as the many different and wild possibilities of what Erik would require from her multiplied in number.

"Monster!" cried Christine, "I will not play along with you Erik. If it is my sanity that you want, then you already have it but I will do nothing with this pistol."

"Oh no, my dear. You will do as I say," yelled Erik as he gnashed his teeth together. "Your name has been cut into my heart, a heart that bled for you and was willing to do all to please you. For once, you will do something to please me."

He then walked to the faux balcony with its large window panes. With the quick movement of his hands, Erik opened one of the doors and stood just beyond the glass.

"Now then, Christine, perhaps you will see the depth of my love when I risked my very life to secure some happiness for us. I made my way to de Chagny's home the night prior in order to see my adversary in his own element. And now I will show you how he received me," said Erik. "Now if you will, raise the firearm and level the barrel so that is aimed at my forehead. Cock the gun and fire."

At this Christine nearly melted into her seat. Erik had found the one incident that Christine would never be able to live with: a death at her own hands.

"Shoot now, Christine! You will do my bidding!" shouted Erik.

Sobbing and in between breaths, Christine bawled out his name, "Erik, no!"

When Erik saw that Christine meant to not discharge the gun, he took a few angry steps toward her. It was then that Christine felt the trigger release.

Christine was oblivious to the events that took place thereafter. She could recall raising her trembling arm and pulling the trigger. She could faintly remember looking into Erik's mask before fainting.

When Christine awoke, she was once again in her Louis-Philippe room.

She had not killed Erik but had determined that her life with a madman was not a viable option. Erik, in effect, decided her end when left her in a room that contained no tools in which to end her misery. Instead she would take her own life by striking her head against a wall thus turning Erik's home into a charnel house. Perhaps God would forgive her for her sin.


End file.
